Rape and murder of girl in temple is a small issue: New J&K Deputy CM

New Delhi, Mar 12: The Supreme Court told the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday that as of now, there was no law that could back their action of putting up roadside posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in Lucknow.

An apex court bench refused to stay the March 9 Allahabad High Court order directing the Yogi Adityanath administration to remove the posters.

The top court, which grilled the Uttar Pradesh government for putting up such posters in public, described the plea as a matter that needed "further elaboration and consideration".

A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose said a "bench of sufficient strength" would consider next week the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal against the Allahabad High Court order directing the state administration to remove the posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests.

It directed the apex court registry to put up the case file before Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde so that a "bench of sufficient strength can be constituted at the earliest to hear and consider" the case next week.

During the hearing, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, that it was a matter of "great importance".

It asked Mehta whether the state government had the power to put up such posters.

The top court, however, said there was no doubt that action should be taken against rioters and they should be punished.

Mehta told the court that the posters were put up as a "deterrent" and the hoardings only said that these persons were liable to pay for their alleged acts during the violence.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for former IPS officer S R Darapuri whose poster has also been affixed in Lucknow, told the bench that the state was duty-bound to show the authority of law backing its action.

He said the action of the Uttar Pradesh government amounted to a "mega blanket" approach of naming and shaming these persons without final adjudication and it was an open invitation to common men to lynch them as the posters also had their addresses and photographs.

Dirbrugarh, Feb 4: Three persons, including two BJP activists, have been arrested for allegedly attacking the residence of Union minister Rameswar Teli during anti-CAA protests in Assam, police said on Monday.

The house of Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing, in Upper Assam's Duliajan town was attacked on December 11 during the statewide stir against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

"Based on CCTV footages, Debajit Hazarika, Vicky Sonar and Arup Kahar were arrested. We had picked them up on Sunday," Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police, Sreejith T told PTI.

A total of 18 persons have been arrested so far for allegedly attacking Teli's house, he said.

"These three persons were also involved in pelting stones on a police party during protests in Duliajan," Sreejith said.

A BJP source confirmed that Debajit Hazarika and Vicky Sonar are party activists.

Family members of the accused have given statements to the police on the arrested persons' alleged role in violence and attacking Teli's house, sources said.

When contacted, Teli said, "I do not know for what reasons they were apprehended. But if police arrested them after proper investigation, then there must be some truth. The trio stays near my house. They always attended my programmes with their families."

A total of 88 people have been arrested so far from Dibrugarh district for their alleged involvement in violence during protests against the Act.